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The Italian Renaissance

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The Italian Renaissance was a time for great cultural change and achievements, which began in Italy approximately during the 13th century and lasted up until the 16th century. It marked the transition between the Dark Ages and Early Modern Europe. The European Renaissance originated in Central Italy, and centered in the city of Florence.i The distinctive characteristics of northern Italian states such as art, literature, philosophy, and culture produced an atmosphere of learning and artistic expression.
Many historians believe The Middle Ages ended after the fall of Constantinople and the end of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France.ii Europe was starting to take shape with regions in Northern Italy evolving. With this came …show more content…

This had been happening since the Crusades, which is why Italy held much more wealth during this time than other parts of Europe. Italy also had a relationship with the Ottoman Empire, as they were trading partners. The ottoman empire significantly influenced the Italian Renaissance. This empire encompassed parts Africa, Asia, and Europe. Ottomans were an economic powerhouse. They were experiencing an Islamic Golden Age which meant they were on a serious pursuit of knowledge. They developed and researched subjects such as Mathematics, Science, and Astronomy. So as Italians reestablished trade they were exposed to the new ideas of the Middle East. This acted as a natural Segway to the Italian Renaissance. Feudalism never flourished in Italy. Italy was more urban whereas the rest of Europe was still rural. Money was made through trade and commerce instead of farming. Cities were the place where people exchanged ideas and the site of an intellectual revolution. This is where people would interact with one another and admire art and architecture.
The class of people who most benefitted most from this were the merchants. During this time merchants had few opportunities to expand their business due to Italy being tightly packed. They could not franchise and build new businesses so they pursued art. What they got out of that was paying people to create. This led to a wealthy merchant class in each Italian city-state. Their wealth soon lead to them dominating politics.

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